Student opinion: Bring back games and streaming

Last year, our school gave us the opportunity to have our own school-issued Chromebooks. We had the ability to complete our assignments in and out of class, get in contact with teachers when we had questions at home and play games or stream movies when we got done with all of our work. Unfortunately, the school has decided that no student at any time should be able to have access to games and streaming services anymore, even if they are just doing it at home.

At the beginning of this school year, the school started using a feature that gives the admin the ability to block any games or websites that they deem to be distracting, but I’m not exactly sure what the big issue with having that ability is. I understand that it can be distracting to students in the classroom, but at home, I think that we should be able to play games or stream movies. As someone who used to use my Chromebook to watch Netflix after a long day of school and extracurricular activities, I am disappointed with the school’s decision to block these services on the Chromebooks. Some people might argue that we could just do these things on our phones, but I think everyone can agree that it is much easier to play games and stream movies on a bigger screen. I have had poor eyesight since I was in elementary school, and when I was able to watch movies and videos on my Chromebook, I found it much more enjoyable than having to squint at my tiny phone screen while I was trying to fall asleep. 

Completely blocking the sites isn’t necessary because now teachers can use monitoring software to track our screens. They can also block and close out tabs if we are using them inappropriately. While some students think that this is an invasion of privacy, I think that it is a helpful tool to keep students on task during school hours. It is also a suitable solution to keeping students on task without having to block games and streaming services as a whole. Utilizing this technology during school hours would be a viable answer to keeping students on task, while also making sure that we can have freedom when we get home from school.

Another solution to this problem would be to just block the games and websites on the school’s internet instead of on the Chromebooks themselves. This would not only keep students off these services but would also give them the ability to play games and stream movies at home again. 

While I don’t think that blocking games and other entertainment websites is the answer, I believe that in some cases, blocking websites is necessary. For instance, if the administrators didn’t block X-rated websites, that would be a huge issue. But for streaming sites like Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu, students must pay for a subscription to use it. Typically, students’ parents pay for these subscriptions, meaning that what they are watching is already being monitored at home. I understand that letting students have unlimited access to the internet is not an appropriate solution, but I think that if the administrators cut back on the number of websites that are being blocked, it would not only help keep students on task but also allow us to more fully use the services that we pay for every month. 

Overall, I understand why the school has made the decision to block games and streaming services off the Chromebooks, but I also think they need to understand that sometimes students just want to be able to have fun after working hard all day long, five days a week. With the newly implemented screen-monitoring software and the ability to block anything the administration deems inappropriate, I think that the school has done plenty to show that keeping students on task is one of their biggest concerns. There are many different solutions to the “keeping students on task” problem, but I think that we can find a solution that not only ensures that students can succeed in the classroom but also ensures that students have the opportunity to unwind when they get home from school.